Critic Reviews

The witching hour has finally struck for the original Sims series as Makin’ Magic passes the torch to the next era in Sims gaming next year. As one of the more ambitiously designed expansion packs, Makin’ Magic will captivate and magically delight Sims fans everywhere. Obviously, the legion of Sims fanatics will want Makin’ Magic as part of their Sims collection. Its new features will keep them more than happy and for those that haven’t been hooked on The Sims before, it’s a good introduction to the series before The Sims 2 surfaces sometime in 2004.

The expansion packs have been a successful venture for Maxis in a number of ways, adding depth to the gameplay and giving the designers some fresh chances to show us human nature, Sims-style. I have to say that I think this pack blends with the original game the best. It feels like a good fit. The addition of spells is just what the franchise ordered. It's a fitting tribute to the simulated reality that The Sims has become famous for -- and a great way for the original game to bow out. Enter The Sims 2.

Maxis' world-renowned PC strategy game The Sims, which lets you create and control the lives of a virtual family of little computer people called "sims," has been extremely popular since its release in 2000. The game has also given rise to a total of seven expansion packs, and the latest and final of these is The Sims: Makin' Magic, which lets your family of sims learn how to use magic wands, potions, and spells to turn their unwanted neighbors into frogs, to shower themselves with riches, and to create other wondrous effects. While some of Makin' Magic's more-colorful additions seem a bit out of place, this final expansion pack adds plenty of new things for you and your sims to do.

Though the magical additions seem somewhat out of place when compared to the overall tone of the series, Maxis has managed to incorporate them in a manner that preserves the basic character of the game and enhances the core gameplay. Personally, I find the magical nature of the expansion charming but incompatible with the basic concept of the series. Perhaps Maxis took wanted to offer something substantially different from the rest of the series; then again, perhaps they just ran out of everyday ideas and didn't want to cannibalize the feature list of The Sims 2.

Unfortunately, Makin' Magic keeps the same pathfinding and lost queue item bugs that have plagued The Sims for nearly four years, and adds a few new ones to keep it interesting. Sometimes a sim will get stuck in a loop, such as preparing a meal that never ends. Some object interactions won't actually work, and you can't delete it from your sim's queue, either. Neither of these bugs is easily re-created, though, so what didn't work one time will probably work the next time you try it.

As hard as it may be to admit, I've been a fan of Sims-related games since its humble beginnings. From Simtown, to Simcity to Sim-everything-else-possible, and by far The Sims have proven the most entertaining. What makes the game so great is its capacity for change and constant evolution. But with Maxis’ latest (and last) expansion pack, Makin’ Magic, one can’t help but wonder if maybe the franchise has begun to show signs of diminished returns.

Seemingly timed to coincide with Halloween, this latest Sims expansion pack is more than just a holdover to Sims 2. Makin’ Magic allows your sims to participate in all sorts of witchy debauchery like meddling with neighbors’ lives through the use of love spells, the ability to charm snakes for fun and profit, and building options that include the new Haunted House. It’s a ghoulishly good time for existing Sims fans.

n a final note, it's a shame that the expansion pack still suffers from chronic issues, such as intermittent glitches in the AI. What happens is that your Sims can sometimes completely neglect the instructions they were given. What's more, we encountered a few path finding problems during the game. Although these issues won't obstruct the gameplay too much, we were kind of hoping they would be dealt with after seven expansion packs. I'm sure you also won't be surprised to hear that the camera is still jerky, even on high end machines, which is another recurring problem that has plagued the series.

The new gameplay spices things up a bit without ditching the core concepts first introduced back in 1998 with the original Sims game. There might even be enough in there to attract gamers who have never touched a Sims game before - just make sure you have played at least a little bit of the original game to minimise confusion. For those that have been playing the series for a while, this departure from the core Sims gameplay might seem a little overwhelming or alarming - this really is quite different to everything that has come before it in the Sims universe. Whether it is you or not, well, only you can decide. But if you are at all uncertain, you should definitely check it out - it's well polished and definitely adds to the experience.

The Sims: Makin’ Magic is yet another typical Sims expansion: enough renewing to get you back to playing but not enough to keep you interested for more than 10 hours (for me at least). It’s of course mandatory stuff for the real fan (of which there are many) but if you only now discover the game you shouldn’t get it. In that case it’s best to get the Super Deluxe edition which contains the original and first two expansions and which can keep you occupied for a very long time !

I suppose it is fitting, or at least ironic, that a game which began as a send up of reality would end as a send up of "surreality", where characters can now pitch themselves into rabbit holes to gain access to Magic Town and while away their time engaging in magical duels or purchasing some obscure ingredient to help turn their pet cat into a Sim they can cuddle with while watching TV. While certainly not the most inspired of concepts, it's still quite fun to explore, experiment and integrate the game's additions into your Sims' world even after the novelty of its spells wears off.

There's a lot of a magic to make here and the new aspects are fun and entertaining. More tutorials other than the first box and an updated interface would work well. But if you have time and patience to balance Sim-caring and magic, this expansion is a keeper.